Happy Saturday! I hope you all had a great week and have some fun plans for this weekend. Yesterday I got my degree in the post, the final product of three years of stress, exams, essays, tears and oh yeah £27000. That said, I’m super proud of myself to have finished my degree especially how difficult my final two years were. It got me thinking about religion and how much I’m going to miss learning about it on a daily basis. I know religion is a sensitive subject for some so it got me thinking, are we right to talk about religion?

I was always told that there are three subjects you should never openly talk about: politics, sex and religion. Which is quite ironic as I took a degree in Religious Studies and Dan took one in Politics. I think the fact that all these subjects are still considered taboo topics in this day and age is a little sad but I’m going to focus on religion.

Discussing religion in a comfortable environment can be one of the most fascinating conversations you'll ever have. It’s so interesting to listen to people’s strongly held beliefs or even just their vague ideas. So many people base their entire lives around their religious beliefs that discussing them is a great way to get know someone better and why they live the way they do.

Feeling free and comfortable to speak about religion is also the perfect way to correct any misconceptions people may have about a certain religion and those who follow them. Discussing religion shows how recent acts of terrorism made in the name of religion hurts that religion. It shows that the majority of those who follow that faith hate when these horrific acts are done in the name of their religion. When you get a better understanding of religion you’ll learn that terrorism directly opposes what it teaches.

Of course the only way to talk about religion is to be open minded and tolerant. Whether you have your own personal beliefs or are unsure of what you believe (I personally consider myself agnostic) the only way talking about religion works is with tolerance. If you aren't willing to listen to other people's beliefs respectfully then do not enter a conversation about religion.

And obviously when talking about religion it’s important to make sure everyone else is comfortable talking about the subject. There are still people who don't like to discuss the matter which is also something which you should be tolerant of, so if someone does seem uncomfortable perhaps change the subject.

In short, talking about religion opens up channels of communication, increases understanding and helps remove misconceptions and I believe that it is a subject that should be discussed openly.

I hope you enjoyed this post. What do you think? Should religion be openly discussed?